Artemis Fowl (Artemis Fowl, #1) by Eoin Colfer Published by Miramax on March 31st 2003
Pages: 316
Goodreads
Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories—they're dangerous! Full of unexpected twists and turns, Artemis Fowl is a riveting, magical adventure.
4 Nuts
I loved the Artemis Fowl books as a kid. I got each one in hardcover as they came out and to this day own first editions of each one. Yeah, I’m that kind of a nerd. Still, It’s been a while since I’ve read them so I decided it was time for a reread. I chose to listen to the audiobooks this time around since I’d never heard them to get a little bit of a different experience (and be able to other things while I’m listening).
Artemis is just as devious as I remember. I’d forgotten he starts out so young, he always seemed so much older. Granted he certainly doesn’t act like an eleven year old boy of any kind. Still I really enjoy reading his story and that doesn’t change even now that I’m older. These books are intelligent enough for an adult to read.
When I was younger my favorite character was Holly, nowadays I’d have to says it’s a tie between Foaly the Centaur and Butler the Bodyguard. Foaly’s humor is really for the other reader and Butler is really just the most badass character in Colfer’s world. While I still like Holly she seems a lot more reckless to me as an adult than she did to me as a kid.
As is usual for an Artemis Fowl book, this first installment features the typical Dwarf bum related humor. I don’t know if I just ignored it more as a kid but as an adult I pick up on it a lot more. Particularly what they mean when they say dwarves “recycle” dirt as they dig. I definitely missed that whole bit. It is both amusing and a little disgusting, as most toilet related humor is. 12 year old boys love jokes about butts and farts.
The narrator for the audiobook does an excellent job, hitting all the accents of the different characters beautifully. Especially Artemis’ Irish. I love and Irish accent. It really makes the reading that much better when a narrator can give you a distinct voice for each character as this narrator does. Well done.
I recommend this book for kids aged 8-14 and parents who are willing to read a bit of juvenile humor. It definitely holds a bit of nostalgia for me and would probably hold up for any former fan who wishes to reread.
Who is your favorite character? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
From my shelf to yours,
Erin
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